Researchers create solar steam using nanoparticles at Rice University. Credit: Rice Univ. From Futurity.org: New technology that uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam is so effective it even works with icy cold water. The solar steam method has an overall energy efficiency of 24 percent. Photovoltaic solar panels, by comparison, typically have…

Last fall we wrote about Penn’s Nano/Bio Center getting a $11.7 million NSF grant. According to a new release from the university, some of the work is paying off in the form of gold-on-glass nanogrid that can convert light directly into electrical current. A group of material scientists at the center say that when light…